


sail for a little

by hulklinging



Series: Spring Awakening [6]
Category: Runaways (Comics), Young Avengers
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Drinking, F/F, Halloween, M/M, Multi, Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-04-29 06:37:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5118806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hulklinging/pseuds/hulklinging
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, you've gotta let go a little.</p><p>Or: the cast has a halloween party, and a thousand things begin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	sail for a little

_There once was a pirate  
_ _Who put out to sea  
_ _His mates all around him  
_ _No maiden on his knee_

They probably shouldn't be partying the day before tech week begins, but it's cast bonding, really, and their call time isn't even early, they have all day to rest up and maybe have dinner together before the sitzprobe, which probably benefits all of them. Also, it's Halloween. If they weren't partying together, they'd be somewhere else, let's be honest.

Billy agonizes over a costume, and then admits defeat and just heads over to Karolina's early. She opens the door and for a moment he just stares. Karolina obviously had no trouble picking out her costume. One, because there's not really a lot to pick out, and two because that makeup must have taken ages, and it looks immaculate.

"I cannot believe you're a literal rainbow," Billy says as she lets him in. "Subtle, much?" He tries not to stare in amazement at Karolina's apartment, which never ceases to knock him back on heels a moment. "Also, I thought Kate said no dramatic hookups or breakups."

"I know," Karolina grabs his hand, dragging him off to the kitchen so he can drop off his generous bottle of rum and some chips that are his contribution, and then they're off to her room, because it is painfully obvious that Billy is in nothing special, and Karolina made it very clear that costumes were mandatory.

"I didn't mean to show up without a costume, really, I didn't."

Karolina's already buried in her walk-in closet, and Billy notices that she's actually wearing rainbow gloves too, which explains why she isn't getting makeup everywhere.

"I know. You were probably over-thinking it, right?" Something that looks suspiciously like lederhosen fly past his head. He hopes those aren't for him (Although, actually, Sound of Music would be recognized here, and Tommy's not here to make fun of him). "It's okay, I get it. I've been planning mine for months, so I can't judge!" She stands up for a second, a pout on her painted face. "As for your comment about Kate's rules, that's why I chose something with so much makeup. It's like an oil-based rainbow chastity belt."

Billy can't argue with that.

He can argue with the costume Karolina picks out for him, but it's fruitless, because Karolina may be made of rainbows but she'll bulldoze over you for your own good and smile while she does it. Which is why Billy ends up in poofy striped pants, high boots, a loose white shirt, and a classic pirate coat that even he has to grudgingly admit is fabulous. He spends ten minutes in the bathroom fretting about the drooping neck of the shirt, but he can really only see the line of his binder if he's staring right at it, and the jacket can close if he starts to stress about it too much. When he comes out of the bathroom, every piece in place, Karolina actually claps her hands in excitement.

"Yes! Perfect!"

'Perfect' apparently means he still needs hairspray to help coax his natural mess into a bit of a windswept curl, and enough eyeliner to give him middle school flashbacks. But finally she pulls away, and when he looks at himself in the mirror he sees a pirate staring back at him. For a moment, there's a disconnect between him and the guy in the mirror.

He kinda likes it.

Karolina leans in behind him, her eyes dancing.

"I bet you Teddy stumbles over something within five minutes of seeing you."

He scowls at her reflection, and it's Billy and Karolina in the mirror again, rainbow and pirate gone.

She shoots him a wink, and then the doorbell rings, and she's back in Host Mode, moving quicker on her heels than Billy can manage in runners. Billy spends a few more seconds relearning the face in the mirror, and then he follows.

Within the next half an hour, the apartment fills up. Billy keeps himself busy by taking bags and sticking them in Karolina's room, bringing the alcohol to the kitchen, avoiding the rest of the cast and crew without really meaning to. He feels anxious without a good reason, which frustrates him, makes him keep his head down, makes him kind of wish he had stayed home.

He's in the kitchen, making himself a drink, when a sweet low voice reaches his ear.

_"There once was a pirate, who put out to sea..."_

Billy turns, smiling almost against his will, because he knows that voice, has it stuck in his head even after he leaves the rehearsal studio.

His hello dies on his tongue when he turns and takes in Teddy's costume. Stares.

Teddy's face is getting steadily more and more red.

Billy's still staring.

"I'm like a pussycat...?" Teddy offers, finally.

"I got that." Billy hopes his voice doesn't sound as floored as he feels. Because Teddy is in a very tight long-sleeve shirt. By some deity's mercy, he's wearing black sweatpants, instead of continuing the tight theme all the way down, but just his upper half is enough to make Billy's head spin.

His only saving grace is that Billy is not the only one who's staring. Teddy's gaze feels heavy on his shoulders, all the way down to his toes and back to his eyes. It's only then that Billy notices the little ears nestled into Teddy's blonde hair, and the whiskers drawn across his cheeks.

Billy chuckles, and the staring match breaks, the sound around them comes rushing back, and they're just two cast-mates again. The strange energy that crackled between them is gone, at least until they step onto the stage together. Teddy reaches out, almost like he's going to brush the hair out of Billy's eyes, but settles for a hand on his shoulder.

"Good to see you," he says, like they didn't see each other the day before. "You look... really good. Fantastic, really."

"It was all Karolina." Billy is quick to give credit where credit is due. "I just showed up."

"Take the compliment, Kaplan!" Yells Brandon, who is decked out in tight black pants and has an Elder Price name tag painted on his bare chest. He pushes past the two of them to pour four shots of rum. Hopefully not all for him. "Jesus, actors are supposed to have egos. Get with the program, dude."

Then Brandon's off again, handing out the shots to whoever steps into his path. Teddy and Billy both lean in to watch him, and they share a conspirator's smile.

"I'm shocked, really."

"I didn't know he even knew my name."

Teddy moves to stand next to Billy, grabs a glass and some mixer and Billy's not sure what ends up in the drink because he's busy staring at Teddy's hands, right up until the boy pushes the drink into his hands.

"Here's to a good tech week?"

Billy clinks his new drink against Teddy's own glass. "And a happy Halloween, too."

They both drink, and Billy blames the butterflies in his stomach on the alcohol.

The night is a good one. Rainbow lips press against a surprised gasp, various costume pieces are lost or discarded in increasingly stranger places. They all come back together to sing through a mishmash of favourite spooky Broadway songs ("Attempting Sondheim while drunk was a bad choice, maybe..."), and then start to drop off, one by one.

The first day of their tech week starts off bright and beautiful. The cast sleeps in. Some of the techs had left during the night, but all of the younger cast had decided to crash at Karolina's, spread out across the couches and the beds and one soulful sleepyhead curled up in a closet. At approximately 11am, Kate Bishop walks in with the key she borrowed a few days before. She has traded her usual save-the-day kit in for something a little different, today.

David steps over a sprawled Noh Varr with nothing but tight gold boxers on ("He does make a good Rocky."), and makes a beeline for the kitchen, grocery bags in hand. Kate grabs a blanket from a nearby couch to throw over their slumbering Georg, and then followers her stage manager. They have a breakfast to make, a show to do, no rest for the production team, all that jazz.

David starts working on the pancakes, Kate on the bacon. They've been at work for a good twenty minutes when Kate looks over to see David smiling. This is not the first time they've worked together, and she feels that she knows the boy well enough to know that smiling into a bowl of blueberries is unusual for him.

"What's up?"

He shrugs, moves to flip another pancake.

"I just think it's going to be a really good show, is all."

Kate blinks, surprised at the unprovoked optimism from their usually so down to earth stage manager. Then she grins.

"Can't argue with that, Alleyne."

Then they get back to work.

 


End file.
